19th-Century Brass? Cello from Belgium
According to the 1900 catalogue of the Musical Instruments Museum, Brussels, this cello is labeled
Fait par A. L. de Fontaine l’Eveque 1840. [Made by A. L. of Fontaine l’Eveque 1840.]
Although the tailpiece and strings are not shown in the online catalogue, at least the tailpiece was still with the cello in 1900, as the body, neck, fingerboard, and tailpiece are described as being made of copper, but it looks like brass – an alloy of copper and zinc.
Pegs
It is now missing one, but the cello clearly had 4 pegs originally – see the side view of the pegbox with the empty peg hole at the top. The catalogue specifies that the pegs are made of iron.
Sources
- Online catalogue entry.
- “ID. 1375. Violoncelle, de l’anc. coll. V. et J. Mahillon.” Cataloque Descriptif et Analytique du Musée Instrumental du Conservatoire Royal de Musique de Bruxelles, 1st, re-edition 1978 ed., vol. 3, Gande, 1900, p. 32.
